My guest for this episode is Shane Armstrong-Phairchyld, artist, dad, and the branch co-director of the trans-youth education and support of Colorado. I met Shane through a mutual friend Daylin. Shane was responding to a question Daylin had posted on facebook regarding the experiences of trans men who had given birth. Shane was so willing to share that I asked if we would be willing to share his experiences here on this show as well. I am so happy that he said yes, and am so happy to have had the opportunity to talk to him here. Shane’s life is much bigger than a pregnancy and I hope that you enjoy the conversation.

Honestly, I’m struggling really hard with depression right now, feel free to send me your jokes, and I’ll include them in the show notes, and thank you right here for sending them to me. (assuming they’re not racist, homophobic, or otherwise hate filled – then again if you listen to this show you probably don’t think jokes like that are funny).

If you don’t have access to an MP3 Player listen on your computer here: http://transatheist.libsyn.com/ep-43-dr-eric-meininger

My guest this episode is Dr. Eric Meininger specializes in adolescent health with special emphasis on transgender adolescents and LGBT homeless youth. After the interview stick around for “American Punk”, a track from the recently released “Burning Rubber” the newest EP from The Homobiles.

Dr. Eric Meininger specializes in adolescent health with special emphasis on transgender adolescents and LGBT homeless youth. I first met Dr. Meininger about 6 years ago in a professional setting, but we don’t mention anything about in this episode because we are both cognizant of patient privacy and the ethics surrounding keeping patient information private.

Dr. Meininger is a wonderful person, a wonderful doctor, and gasp shock & horror, the lead usher at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church. Yes Dr. Meininger is yet another christian appearing on an atheist podcast…but that’s because to me the god question is much less important than how we treat each other, how we respect, care, and treat our fellow humans…and Dr. Meininger respects, cares, and treats his patients and the people in his life wonderfully. Too often in the trans community we are faced with gatekeepers who are trying to keep us out. Dr. Meininger definitely manages a gate, but from this interview, and the years I’ve personally known him, his role at that gate is to help the trans community get through the gate and onto their true authentic selves. We need more allies like Dr. Eric Meininger in healthcare.

009:05 Interview with Jennifer Landuis – Director of Social change at The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence

138:35 Mya Byrne, American Dream (so far away)

My guest for this episode is Jennifer Landuis, she is the Director of Social Change at the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence. This conversation may be difficult for some listeners as it is a frank discussion on the work Jennifer is doing in combatting sexual and gender violence. The conversation takes a few detours on the way, we touch a bit on her Christianity and social justice and getting deeper the conversation turns to why we sometimes use the term gender violence in lieu of domestic violence, what her recommendation is if you come across an abuse situation in public, and how to find resources in your area. This is a pretty long conversation, and a conversation which was over much too quickly. I hope you enjoy this episode, and while I hope no one listening is in a place where they need any of the resources Jennifer provides, the resources Jennifer and I discuss are in the show notes, they are right here for those that do.

My guest this episode is Dara Hoffman-Fox, a queer-identified gender therapist, writer, educator, and transgender rights advocate. Frequently serving as a subject-matter expert on transgender and non-binary issues for the media, Dara is a prolific thought leader on the topic of gender identity whose articles and videos have empowered thousands worldwide. Dara provides educational resources through a blog, YouTube channel, social media networks, trainings and presentations.

This episode runs long, because the conversation that Dara and I were having was so great, that neither one of us were in a hurry to end it. Dara is an amazing person, and I’m extremely happy to finally make this show happen, and that the conversation went so well.

To close this episode out I asked FLOWTUS if I could play one of the tracks they recorded outside of the studio. As I’m typing this I had just heard them last night, they were amazing, and I didn’t want to wait for them to hit the studio before I shared their music. Give it a listen, imagine you’re sitting 6 feet from the band with a gorgeous fire burning behind you, surrounded by friends. FLOWTUS will forever have a special place in my heart for being a great soundtrack on such an amazing night.

You can find FLOWTUS on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FLOWTUSBAND and you can purchase, download, and be alerted when new music is released at https://flowtus.bandcamp.com/releases

Opening and bumper music was provided courtesy of Obsidian Shell you can find them at http://www.obsidianshell.com/ where you will find links to all of their albums and social media sites.

Trans Podcaster Visibility Initiative:

You can learn more and follow the Trans Podcaster Visibility Initiative on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/transvisiblepodcaster/

Con Links:

For more information on what happened at MythCon I highly recommend listening to Callie Wright’s interview with the organizers: http://gaytheistmanifesto.secularmediagroup.com/2017/09/28/extra-mythicist-milwaukee/

Terra is someone who sees injustice in the world and wants to make it right. Hears the needs of those around her and can’t help but feel the need to improve it. Who stands tall with all her sisters and brothers of all races, religions, and creeds and hopes to support them in their dream of becoming a part of this amazing melting pot we call home. Who will fight for the needs of all the people, not just the select few who already have it all and want to exploit us just so they can have a little more. She hopes for a strong education for all of our children and young adults, no matter their upbringing or where they live. She believes in the armed forces of this union but feels that many of these brave woman and men don’t have the support the need once they return home. And she won’t sit by and watch this country be broken apart by the very people who are sworn to serve the public.

Jobs and Wages: There is a significant problem with disproportionate income distribution leading to stagnant wages which have not kept up with the cost of living. The minimum wage MUST be increased. (Read more.)

Healthcare: Healthcare in the United States has been broken for far too long. The ACA was a good starting point, but we need to go further and make Medicare-for-all a reality. (Read more)

Immigration: Almost all Americans are immigrants. We came here looking for a better life, hoping this land would care for us, and that dream hasn’t changed. We need to create better, more streamlined legal paths to become citizens. The American dream does not diminish the more who become a part of it: It only grows stronger. (Read more)

Agriculture: Given the recent demand for water in California, and the subsequent effect of groundwater levels, it is imperative that we be proactive to incentivize more efficient use of land and water resources. I propose tax cuts and further subsidies for farms that work to be more ecologically friendly. (Read more)

Infrastructure: One of the most important but least sexy issues facing the USA. We need to find a way to repair and modernize our infrastructure without breaking the bank. We need to invest in better technology, especially for dams and bridges.

Science: We find ourselves facing one the largest problems of the past 200 years in the form of widespread science denial. Science has made our country what it is today, from the Wright brothers taking flight and JFK’s challenge to one day go to the moon, we now having robots operating on other worlds. We can not lose this love of the unknown and quest to do and create the next big thing. (Read more)

Criminal Justice: We live in a time when the criminal justice system is broken. We currently incarcerate more people than any other place in the world: 2,000,000 + people. That’s more than the population of New Mexico! We need to shift from punishment to rehabilitation whenever possible and disincentivize prisons from keeping people in the system by making all prisons non-profit. (Read more)

Equality: California’s own anti-discrimination laws should serve as a template for the entire country, at the federal level. (Read more)

Support for the Arts: America has some of the lowest per capita funding for the arts.I propose not only restoring, but expanding the National Endowment for the Arts. (Read more)

In this episode I sit down with Kathleen Culhane of The Culhane Brewing Company to discuss how she came to open her first, and now her second taproom right here in Saint Paul.

I love beer, I love music, and I love touching, smelling, and experiencing history. Kathleen and I met through a mutual friend and classmate, and as a podcaster who enjoys profiling the local transgender community, I was extremely interested in having her on the show, and just as cool, well for me at least, was she said we could chat in her unfinished taproom-which is a former concert venue…It used to be Ryans, and The Lab, and Station 4…but for the last few years it was just empty.

Kathleen had suggested we meet outside, as the renovations on the building meant that she currently didn’t have a front door, and that we would have to “wind through a labyrinth” to get to the tap room. Labyrinth was an apt description, once through the front door we quickly turned to go down a flight of steps, and as we did so, modernity began to quickly leave. My favorite part of the basement was the old unused and unrepaired boiler in the corner, which had for some reason that had long ago vanished from memory, an old dusty typewriter perched on it. The typewriter seemed both out of place, but at the same time, it was somehow exactly where it should be, just like the new owner.

The majority of craft brewers in Minnesota are middle age white cisgender heterosexual men with bushy beards or, at the very least, fanciful mustaches. Like finding an old typewriter on top of a boiler, Kathleen is not what you expect to come across when visiting the many St. Paul craft breweries, and as she states in the interview, she is aware of how few women there are in the craft brew industry, but just like that typewriter, she has had years of experience in standing out.

Mikayla is part of one my favorite podcasts, The Web of Queer. I had the pleasure to have the entire cast of The Web of Queer on this very show back in April of 2015. For those unfamiliar, The Web of Queer is a Doctor Who fan podcast that reviews the show, but also looks at current and past radio and television episodes from a queer perspective. While they are huge fans of the show, who are never afraid to tell you how great Doctor Who is, they also never shy away from criticizing when the canonical Who-verse use an old and problematic queer trope or when Whovian fans wrongly try and pin queer labels on The Doctor themself.

About a year and a half ago The Web of Queer dedicated about 30 minutes to discussing asexuality and aromanticism, and the misapplication of this label to The Doctor. As someone who identifies as an asexual / aromantic person Mikayla did a wonderful job educating the audience on what those labels mean. She opened my eyes a bit, and showed me how ignorant I was about the feelings and struggles of those who identify with The Forgotten Letter.

Music:

Opening and bumper music is provided courtesy of Obsidian Shell. Find them at http://www.obsidianshell.com/ where you can download and purchase their fantastic music.

The featured closing music for this episode is by 4th Curtis. The bio on their home page describes them as : 4th Curtis is St. Paul’s premier all-trans indie pop band. Originally the solo project of singer/songwriter/guitarist Lex Noens, it has since expanded to include Maddie Morley (drums) and Ty Gale (keys/vocals). Since the full band got together in late 2015, they’ve attracted a tight-knit following with their experimentally glamorous tunes and insatiable need to broadcast their transness to the greater Twin Cities area. Keep an eye out – they’re lying in wait to seduce your ears and grub for your money.

My guest today is CB, a volunteer lawyer with a Minneapolis / Saint Paul based Queer and Trans Legal clinic that helps people in the trans and queer communities by providing free legal advice help in navigating legal issues specific and common to the trans and queer communities. The services are provided through a network of volunteer lawyers, who provide free 15-30 minute legal consultations and help those who identify as trans and queer navigate legal issues and help find and identify solutions.

The Queer and Trans Legal Clinic meets on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7pm. The Exchange: 3405 Chicago Ave. S, Mpls. MN

2nd & 4th Monday of each month from 2-4pm, and the 3rd Saturday of each month from 11-1pm. @ Family Tree Clinic: 1619 Dayton Ave. #205. St. Paul, MN

What we can do to help: Attorneys will be available to give information, forms, and advice about identity document corrections, such as name changes and gender marker changes. We can advise about the process in Minnesota and help you figure out how other states work. We can help fill out forms, make phone calls, get information from third parties, and provide written information about your legal issue. Name and gender marker info specific to Minnesota: https://www.outfront.org/library/changename

Do you have another type of legal issue? We can help with general information about the law and referrals to other free and low cost resources.

Before you visit us: Gather all documents that are related to your legal question. Bring these with you when you meet with the lawyer. Things to look for: letters from government agencies, court orders, existing identity documents, lease agreements, court records such as criminal history.

Think about what outcome you would like, so the lawyer knows what you are trying to do and what is most important to you to resolve the problem. If you have a friend, advocate, or caseworker who is helping you with your legal issue, consider bringing them with you.

Are you even reading these? If you are, this is where the bad jokes I just heard today go, and apparently my son Drake has the same horrible sense of humor I do. Julie and I were making dinner, I put one of our limes on the floor and asked her if she knew what it was. I then picked it up and said it was a good “pick up lime”…she obviously walked out of the kitchen – I’m sure it was because the joke was so funny that she was having difficulty catching her breath. ANYWAY, my son came downstairs and I told him I had just told Julie a hilarious joke, I then promptly set the lime on the floor again, and he promptly picked it up and told me that was the best pick up lime he had ever seen. We fist bumped (because we’re cool and hip), and realized we had made the same terrible joke within 5 minutes, without talking to each other. If I didn’t love my son already, that moment would’ve sealed the deal, with zest.

My guest today is Marissa McCool Marissa is an author, podcaster, mother, photographer, columnist, and activist. She hosts the Inciting Incident podcast and cohosts the Cis Are Getting Out of Hand podcast, along with a being a prolific writer of autobiographical works, essays, and fiction.

In this episode Ris discusses her future move to Minnesota, her favorite guests on Inciting Incidence, her relationships, graduating college, and reads a short section of her book The PC Lie.

My guest today is Trav Mamone, a bi-sexual genderqueer humanist whose podcast Bi-Any Means strives to show how Humanism and Social Justice intersect. Trav has written for both Queereka and the Humanist blogs, must can now be found over on Freethought Blogs. This interview was recorded back in March, and I want to thank Trav for being so patient with me in how long it took for this to be released.

I also take a few moments to share a few thoughts on Donald Trump, and what I feel should be simple first step in ending the needless violence at the hands of police. While I specifically mention the police violence towards black and brown people, its important to remember the level of violence is increased towards the mentally ill, impoverished, and queer communities…and is especially increased those who are both a person of color, and a member of any other marginalized group.